PokeMaster of Death
by bloopenstein
Summary: At the Battle in the DoM, Harry Potter defeats Voldemort completely (ignoring Horcruxes), and He and Luna Lovegood are blasted into the Pokemon universe. Starts in Kanto, and will be dominantly original-151, but there will be significant quantity from the most-recently-updated pokedex. violent, bloody, wild adventure in a new world. OP Harry/OP Luna, but fighting OP monsters.
1. Stirring the soup

Harry Potter awoke, and instantly came to the conclusion that something was _right_. It was a disorienting sensation, for a young man who had spent the previous decade and a half decidedly not. He blinked his eyes, and with clarity of thought matched by a new clarity of sight, marveled at his surroundings. His glasses were missing from his face when he awoke, but the sound and tickling of the slight breeze on his skin, as well as smell of dirt and the grass he lay on was like all of his senses had been cranked up to eleven, with his vision restored to at least perfect 20/20. He sat upright with a groan, the ache of sore muscles and a bruised and battered body doing nothing to diminish his grin. It was as if a pressure he had been under his entire life had been lifted while he was unconscious, and now he was free to run and jump and expand. He felt like Moody's magical trunk- that there was more of him now, on the inside, than could fit within the barriers of his skin. He silently climbed to his feet and stretched, perfectly content and relaxed to have awakened alone in a field when the beautiful sky and tree line were all he could see under the warm rays of the morning sun. A rustling in the grass behind him turned Harry rapidly around, only to trip himself and land flat on his back before he identified the new arrival.

A giggle helped to identify the witch smiling down at him, swaying back and forth innocently to a tune only she could hear. "L-Luna?!" He stuttered, getting a long look up her body from laying on the ground. "Where are your knick... I mean, where are we?" He blushed up at her, catching glimpses up her skirt as he tried and failed to keep eye contact with his blonde friend. Naturally blonde, he confirmed, more than a little bit distracted from her response. He focused his thoughts as she finished, face burning in embarrassment at what he had seen and thought, and tried to keep himself together. "Sorry, Luna, I don't think I got that. What did you say?" He asked again as he stood, trying to keep his eyes from betraying him again.

"I said, 'it's good to see you've awakened, Harry Potter.' And in good health as well, though you seem to have a bit of swelling there." Luna focused her gaze on Harry's crotch, his trousers tenting out in reaction to his view moments ago. "But I have a few questions, before I can explain what happened. How much do you know about time, the universe, prophecy, and the Deathly Hallows?"

Harry's blush had intensified when Luna had commented on his erection, and then quickly dissipated at her abrupt zig in conversation topics. "I'm no Ravenclaw like you, Luna, and I've never heard of the Deathly Hallows. But apparently there was a prophecy that Voldemort was after down in the Department of Mysteries, and that was the reason he needed me down there. I didn't hear what it said when it was destroyed, but Dumbledore seemed to think it was important somehow."

They started walking south, as good a direction as any to find out where they were or what had happened. Luna began, "So, the universe is like a bowl of soup. Imagine, if you will, that you could take a picture of the whole universe. You would have to be outside the universe, of course, in order to get the whole thing, and you don't really have to take the whole thing at once, because until you have it all at once, there're parts that don't interact and therefore have no impact on one another…"

"Luna!" Harry interrupted. "The universe is like a bowl of soup. How?"

"Right!" Luna blinked, a rarity for her, and started again. "So imagine, if you will, your average person. If you were to take a picture of every moment that person was alive, you would have a whole lifetime of pictures, all stacked together like an infinite page book. Or a noodle. Now, involving multiple dimensions and consciousness and free will are all a big complicated clusterfuck to throw in there too, but you kinda have to take those as just how the universe works. So what happens if the average person over the course of his life, gets into a situation with a choice. Does he want pancakes or oatmeal for breakfast? He can't decide, so he flips a coin. That coin flip could be considered a branching of reality- in the choose-your-own-adventure-novel-noodle of your life, go to page 87 or 225. Pancakes breakfast goes off to the left, gets in a car crash, and ends up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Oatmeal takes the bus, goes to work, and does the same thing that day he had been for the past decade, continuing on with his life. So if his noodle has split into two separate paths, and each decision or coin flip or anything could have split off his reality from another, in which something _else_ had happened."

"So the universe is like a bowl of soup because everyone has a noodle of their life, and what? Lumps of meat and the veggies are natural disasters? Earthquakes and hurricanes and the like?" Harry tried to wrap his head around Luna's explanation, and for all that it made a sort of sense, he couldn't understand why she was telling him this.

"Yes! Exactly!" Luna beamed up at Harry, her silver eyes sparkling in excitement despite walking in Harry's shadow in the early morning sunlight. "So that's the universe. Time, for all its value, is constant, immutable, and irrelevant here. The universe travels ever onwards, one second per second until the end."

"But what about time travel? Hermione had a time-turner two years ago, and she went back in time for her classes all year." Harry asked, still uncertain of where Luna was taking him, both in conversation and their walk.

"That's simple, it's just like tying a knot in a string. She went along, doot de doot de doo, and when she was in two places at once it was just a bump. When she caught back up to herself, it smoothed out to a normal strand again. Like the breakfast coin flip, but with a double-handled spoon instead of a fork. But where was I?" Luna explained. Harry smiled at her; for all her genius and madness, she was incredibly flighty, and jumped from topic to topic with little semblance of order.

"You've got the universe, and how time doesn't matter. You said something at the start about prophecy, but if I've learned anything from Divination, it's that the more you know, the worse it will be for you. So as long as you don't think there's something I NEED to know, I'd rather not. The last thing you mentioned I've never heard of before, Hello Death or something?"

Luna erupted with laughter. More than just a mere giggle, she erupted with abandon, shaking and collapsing to the ground. Hardly able to breathe, she rolled on her back in the grass mumbling out "Hello… hello death…" between bouts of laughter. Harry stopped walking to stare, confused at her seemingly excessive reaction. "The Deathly Hallows, as they have been called by those who quest for them. The Tale of Three Brothers is where it comes from, but like many legends, it is more than just a children's bedtime story." Harry helped Luna to her feet, and as they started walking again, Luna began the tale. "There were three brothers, long ago. Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell, and they were wizards of no small talent. Cadmus had recently lost his wife in childbirth, and his daughter did not survive either. In an attempt to cheer him up, the other brothers decided for them all to travel to far away lands, and explore the world of magic. They came to a river, deep and swift, with the crumbling remains of a bridge, and no other way to cross. The brothers paid little heed to the trouble, and with a few quick spells they had a brand new bridge, and crossed safely to the other side. As they stepped onto the dirt on the far side of the river, they were stopped by a mounted being, darker and more powerful than anything witnessed before or since. Hidden in shadows beneath a hooded cloak blacker than night and sitting calmly atop a thestral, a voice spoke to the brothers. 'Congratulations, wizards. Long has it been since any have crossed this treacherous passage with their lives. As testament to your success, I will provide each of you with a boon of your choice.'

"The first brother, Antioch, was a proud and powerful man. 'I would have a wand- more powerful than any other, that would make me undefeatable in combat.' Death, for who else could it possibly have been, dismounted his thestral, and walked to the side of the road. It snapped a branch from an Elderberry bush and returned to the side of its mount, taking a thestral hair in its other hand. With a twisting of shadows, Death handed over a wand. 13 inches, Elder and Thestral hair, it has the longest and bloodiest history of any magical artifact, even now. Cadmus, the second brother, was still not over the loss of his wife and child. 'I want my wife. To see her, speak with her again, after she has been taken from me too soon.' Death stared at him for a moment, before sweeping around the brothers and gliding to the riverbank. It grabbed a small stone from the riverbank, black as night and the size of a thumbnail. With a screeching, cracking sound that sent shivers down the Peverell's backs, Death etched a mark into the stone, and handed it to the second brother. Ignotus, the youngest brother was the most cautious of the three. 'Power, you have granted my brother. And closure as well, for the brother we could do nothing more for ourselves. But though you have granted great boons, I must fear the terrible cost we have yet to see. A cloak, I request. A cloak of invisibility, so that nothing can find me when I am underneath, hidden from any and everything.'

"Death paused at this, if only for a moment. It straightened up in front of the brothers, stretching and growing until all they could see was the black cloak and dark shadow. With a quick jerk, it removed its own cloak from its shoulders and handed it over, returning to normal size as the garment traded hands. Death's appearance remained unchanged, still wrapped in shadow and featureless. And before the brothers could move, Death returned to the saddle of his thestral and disappeared."

"There's more to the story, of course, but what you need to know is that those three items, the Deathly Hallows, are truly creations outside of human comprehension, and that they are verifiably extant." Luna finished the tale as they came to a dirt road leading towards the woods in one direction and off to the open horizon in the other.

"Okay Luna," Harry said as they paused for a rest at the roadside. "So I think I understand what you were saying about the universe, and the Deathly Hallows. But how does that explain where we are?"

"It doesn't, of course." Luna replied, smiling at Harry's confused look. "It's all just the background information. What's the last thing you remember before you woke up with me this morning?"

Harry blushed at her phrasing, vividly remembering the look up her skirt earlier. "Well, we got the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, and then got in a huge battle with Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the Aurors, and us from the D.A. I remember… I accidentally cast expelliarmus at Dumbledore in the back when Bellatrix Lestrange hit me with the cruciatus. And then Neville… Neville had broken his dad's wand, so I threw him mine as I fell and Dumbledore's was in the air headed towards me. Neville killed Bellatrix, which released me, and then… Everything after the cruciatus is blurry and confusing. The sword of Gryffindor, Voldemort collapsing and melting without his hands, and… He did something. With just hatred and his red eyes, I'm not sure what. But I didn't like it, and wasn't going to let it happen. After that, nothing until there was a curtain waving in a breeze and then an explosion." There was something in Luna's eyes at that revelation- a hint of sadness? A waver of fear? And then it was gone, fast enough that Harry wasn't even sure he noticed anything. "And this morning, when I woke up… I felt great. Better than great. Like I was miserable before, and didn't know it, but it's all so obvious looking back at it. And…" Harry reached up to his forehead, with a confused look on his face. "My scar is gone!? It's gone, Luna! Gone!" And he leaned over and kissed her, before wrapping his arms around her and spinning them around in circles.

They both blushed crimson when Harry stopped and let go, his ear to ear grin dwarfing her small smile and pink cheeks in exuberance. "So what did I miss, then? Is Voldemort really dead? He must be, if my scar is gone too, right? And I still don't get where we are, much less how we got here."

Luna's small smile hadn't diminished in the slightest, but she continued the violent tale. "You disarmed Dumbledore, so Voldemort spent a few minutes taunting and gloating while Neville killed Bellatrix behind him. When he realized that and turned to curse Neville, you somehow summoned the Sword of Gryffindor and cut off both Voldemort's hands with one swing. Voldemort started screaming and melting, so you grabbed Voldemort's detached hands, one of which was gripping his wand, and the Deathstick that you had just captured from Dumbledore. Most of the Aurors and Order members had finished with the Death Eaters by then, and even Minister Fudge had shown up and seen Voldemort laying there dying. Voldemort glared at you, Harry Potter, with such hatred that it was almost a spell itself. The magic in the air was almost tangible- foul, cruel, bloodthirstiness oppressing everyone around, so much that most of the onlookers were frozen in place. And you, Harry Potter, you glared back. For what may have been seconds, or may have been hours, you and the Dark Lord were locked in a contest of wills. Your scar broke open and seeped blood and some foul black ichor, but you did not relent, did not give in. Your own magic pulsed against him, in time with your heartbeat. Lub-dub, we could _feel_ it, pulsing outwards ever so slightly, pushing back against the Dark Lord's, and then fortifying itself, steadying. You fought back, with everything that you had, and when Voldemort finally realized that he could not win, he tried to flee."

"You cast something with the Elder Wand. I've no idea what it was, and nobody else seemed to recognize it either, but with it in your left hand, you unleashed some kind of black net. It tied itself to the archway in the center of the room, wrapped around Voldemort, and then came back and covered you as well. Now, this is where things get interesting."

"Get interesting?" Harry interrupted. "I've been interested the whole time, and I was there!"

Luna smiled. "The Magics, silly. So you Harry Potter, possessor of the three Deathly Hallows, fired some sort of spell with the Deathstick between a necromantic construct Dark Lord and the Veil of Death. I grabbed on to you from behind, because you're my friend and I didn't want you to get swept through the archway. Moments after that, the curtain detached from the stone archway and ate Voldemort, and then the rocks and curtain both exploded, at exactly the time that we winked out of existence and reappeared in the field back there. If you want to continue with the soup, I'm pretty sure it just got stirred quite vigorously and we are someplace that is emphatically _somewhere else._ You were unconscious for about half an hour, but I haven't seen anything more than the trees in the distance, and the grass we're walking through."

"Luna?"

"Yes, Harry Potter?"

"Fuckin' hell." They both stood quietly for a moment, with Harry finally caught up to as much as Luna knew of where they were. "Thank you, Luna. I don't know what else could have happened if anything was any different, but I'm glad that you're with me, wherever we are. It looks like Earth, but I can't remember any grasses like this anywhere in England. So unless we can somehow find another portal to the land of the dead and recreate the circumstances, which I highly doubt given the presence of some sort of prophecy, we can't go home."

Luna stepped closer and grabbed Harry into a hug. "Fuckin hell is right, Harry Potter. I'm glad you're here. Do you still have the Hallows?"

"Er… I dunno. There was nothing around us when I woke up, but I haven't gone through what I've got on me. Might wanna give that a once over, right?" Harry detached from Luna, and quickly rifled through his pockets. "The Elder Wand, Voldemort's wand, the resurrection stone set into a ring, Voldemort's detached hands, the handle to a knife, my D.A. galleon, and a sack lunch from the Hogwarts House-Elves. Though knowing the elves, it's probably enough for a couple days for us. That's useful. I've got my shirt, trousers, belt, cloak, trainers I'm ditching as soon as we find a road, but no Sword of Gryffindor. Unless…" He held his empty right hand out, and closed his eyes. After just a moment of concentration, the sword appeared in his grip, as though he had been holding it all along. "Awesome! If I did it the once like you said, I was hoping I could do it again. You have anything besides your shirt and skirt?"

"Wand and boots!" Luna said cheerily, gesturing to the wand holding her hair in place, and the sturdy combat boots on her feet. "I was dressed for combat efficiency, and left everything else behind before we left Hogwarts." Harry put the resurrection stone on the pointer finger of his right hand, and noticing Luna's nipples through her shirt concluded that yes, she only had the handful of worldly possessions and they the solid dozen between them. Luna's butterbeer-cork necklace went without mention, as it was the last memento of her mother and never was removed. He packed his things back into his pockets, grateful for the expansion charms that allowed him to carry so much, and reduced the weight to almost nothing. He transfigured his socks into a sheath for the Sword of Gryffindor and strapped it to his hip, his holey trainers abandoned in the dirt.

"Well, which direction do you think we should go? I'd like to find some signs of something before we break into the only food we have. Let's split this noodle with a coinflip, yeah?"

"Dragon towards the forest, Ship to the right." Luna declared, and catching the glinting gold coin, slapped it down on the back of her hand. "Ship! Towards the horizon, and that flighty temptress, adventure!"


	2. Sweet Merlin that horse is on fire!

Harry and Luna traveled on, and it wasn't until early afternoon that they found anything more exciting than the occasional bird in the distance. The morning had started almost eerily quiet, broken only by the breeze in the long grasses at the side of the road and Luna's skipping footsteps. Harry's holey trainers lay abandoned miles behind them, his socks transfigured into a sheath strapped to his waist for his sword, and his cautious footsteps carried him along silently. He hoped he could build up some callouses quickly, if they didn't manage to find people or something to make shoes out of. Both Harry and Luna noticed the sign to Pallet Town, but kept their silence until they had walked all the way up to it.

"Guess we're headed to Pallet Town, Luna. And it's only 12 away! I wish it had an explanation of what it is 12 of, but 12 doesn't seem like that far. Maybe its Kilometers, and we can be there with time to spare before dinner."

"I hope they're friendly. I'd rather not have come to some place where we have no choice but to conquer them."

"Yes. I've never really thought of what I wanted to do with my life. I'd only ever worried about surviving Voldemort. And now not just is Voldemort gone, but the entire world is new and different. I wouldn't be able to decide if I even knew the options. But I don't think I want to invade. If there's a sign, they must expect visitors, so I think there's good chances they're friendly. Do you want to eat now, or after we get into the town?"

"I'm too excited to stop, but too hungry to keep going. Did the house-elves pack anything we can eat on the road?"

Harry pulled a bag too large for his pocket out in front of him, and rummaged through what the house-elves had given him. He reached his arm in the small sack up past the elbow, and removed two large sandwiches and a pair of apples. "There's four more sandwiches, three more apples, and two loaves of bread with cheese and herbs baked into them. Those House-Elves sure can pack a lunch."

They ate as they walked, and Harry paid more attention to his surroundings now that they were within range of civilization. He had rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up past his elbows exposing the basilisk bite scar on his forearm, and had put the Deathstick behind his ear. He had taken the idea from Luna, who's 14.5" Flowering Dogwood wand complemented her pale golden locks flowing down her back from behind her left ear. Voldemort's wand, 13 inches of yew with the first feather Fawkes had donated remained in his pocket, the eerily similar connection to his original Holly wand unsettling him when he attempted to wield it.

Pallet Town appeared nearly out of nowhere as they crested a small hill, a few small ranches on the outskirts and a single large complex on the other side of a dozen or so small houses. It was soothingly reminiscent of Hogsmeade, both in size and in the number of people out and about. It was very _normal_ as they walked into town, and even the people looked no different than the ones Harry and Luna were used to. The buildings were of modern if foreign construction- wood, stone, and glass in abundance, though none of the streets anywhere were paved. Hard packed dirt prevailed, though there were many cobblestone walkways, patios, and even sidewalks.

The first breach of normality was at the first ranch they passed by, before even entering the town proper. A large red barn between a few acres of fenced in land and a large single story house blocked a good portion of Harry's sight, and as he stepped past it, he stopped abruptly. Luna was jerked to a stop and turned to the same direction when Harry's arm stopped moving, and they both stood frozen in shock and amazement for a long few minutes. A small herd of white horses were running free, all of them burning from the mane, tail, and hooves. The larger ones interspersed in the herd had horns like unicorns, and flames larger and brighter than the smaller horses they ran among. None of them seemed to be in any discomfort at all, and after calming from the shock, they stood and admired the beauty. "Magical fire horses, Harry Potter! My father would have loved to learn about these."

Harry untangled his arm with Luna's, and reached all the way around her. "I'm sorry Lu," when she interrupted him.

"No, Harry Potter. You have nothing to apologize for, and so you had better not even try. But if you could get me a ride on one of those…" Luna smiled up at him, and Harry laughed.

"A pony ride it is, extra hot! I wonder if we'll have to use flame freezing charms, or if they have magic fire that doesn't burn. Hagrid would love these things." They turned back a few steps and followed the path up to the house, Harry with his arm still around Luna's shoulders. They rang the bell, and after waiting just a moment, an old lady answered the door. With hair as white as the sparse clouds overhead, clad entirely in denim except for her cowboy boots and hat, she looked about as old cowboy lady as it was possible to look. "Er, hello, ma'am, I'm Harry, and this is Luna, and we were wondering if there was any way she could get a ride on one of those fire-horses you have out there." Harry smiled, and he and Luna held their hands out to shake.

"I'm Granny Klitsch, and this is Granny's Rapidash Ranch. I tell you what, boy," Harry flinched, and though Granny Klitsch's sharp eyes caught him tensing up, she continued as if nothing had happened. "My normal kid's out today, some hullabaloo up in Viridian's got him itchin' like a Furret and he up and skeedaddled after he finished the mornin' shift. You get the afternoon shift, and I'll let you and your girlfriend try and go for a ride. If'n Scooter comes back this afternoon- I'll even have him show you a thing or two since you're doin' his job fer 'im. Sound fair?" The old lady completely ignored their outstretched hands, but by the time she had finished talking they were both nodding and grinning.

"You best watch yer step, sonny, if you ain't gonna follow yer girlfriend's example with some solid boots."

"Err… we left home rather abruptly, Ma'am, and there's little chance of going back. And this is all that we have between us." Harry gestured to himself and Luna.

Granny Klitsch muttered something about "Durn fool kids," and then began to explain the duties when they reached the large red barn. "You can start by cleanin' out all them stalls, and when that's done fill 'em all back in with new grass bedding. Thick enough you can't see the stone, not so thick it's a mess and a waste. If you wanna give him a hand, girlie, each stall gets a bucket of feed. You two work quick enough, and you'll have time to try and ride before all my babies come in for the night. If'n you don't, I suppose I could give you another shot tomorrow mornin'. I was plannin' on 'ballin' two or three for sale, but you might have a chance if you get here before that. Not to mention Oak's always pesterin' me for newly hatched Ponytas, he thinks more kids'd survive Viridian Forest with a fire pokemon. So the herd'll be a mite ornery tomorrow afternoon."

Harry and Luna quickly entered the barn, and as soon as Granny Klitsch was out of sight, Luna burst into excited chatter. "If we use magic, we can finish this in just a few minutes, Harry! And we can ride all afternoon!"

"If one of them will let us. And we figure out how. That Granny Klitsch gave the impression that they were reasonably intelligent, though I have no idea what 'balling' is, or even what a pokemon is. Though if this is a Rapidash Ranch, those fire horses are probably Rapidashes. And maybe the baby ones are called Ponytas? But 'newly hatched'? Do they lay eggs? I'm pretty sure normal horses don't do that."

"Normal horses aren't on fire either, Harry Potter. Hurry up with your vanishing. I don't know how to do that, but I can lighten that whole feed barrel and carry it around instead of carrying all the small buckets back and forth. Time's a wasting!"

Harry chuckled at Luna's effervescence, her contagious joy at the new fantastical magical animals eclipsing his despondency of losing most everything he'd ever known. And really, he thought, he still had his magic, he still had a great and beautiful friend, and he was someplace entirely new where nobody knew who he was or anything about him. By the time he was halfway done, Luna had finished with all the food, and had started levitating new hay bedding into the stalls behind him. Twenty quick minutes after they started, they emerged back into the bright sunshine, with Granny Klitsch nowhere to be found. The herd of Ponytas and Rapidashes were standing peacefully, watching the new arrivals as they approached.

Harry stopped a few yards from the largest one, who had trotted up to them separate from the herd. Luna almost vibrated at his side in her excitement, and Harry tried to maintain a non-threatening appearance. They stared at each other for a long moment, Harry's bright green eyes taking in the powerfully muscled equine form, horned like a unicorn, and almost entirely engulfed in searing flames. This large creature, the biggest and most powerful of the herd stood calmly before them, reminiscent of Buckbeak in Hagrid's first lesson as a professor. Harry bowed low before it, keeping his eyes locked on the Rapidash's large red eyes. Nothing like Voldemort's despite the similar color, these glowed like coals and sparked with intelligence; watching and judging. Luna followed Harry's lead and bowed as well, and when they straightened up, they waited patiently for a reaction. The Rapidash lowered its head slightly, and the heat they could feel even from steps away vanished, though the flames burned just as high and strong.

Luna rushed forward eagerly, and hesitantly reached out to touch it. "Oh! You're magnificent. And not as hot as you were just moments ago even if your flames are just as big. I would be tremendously grateful if I could go for a ride on one of you." Luna spoke to the creature, and scratched it behind its ears. The Rapidash turned its head to watch Luna as she spoke, and paused for a moment, as if contemplating. It turned its head to stare at the herd for another long moment, and then looked back at Luna. It had no change in expression or mannerisms, and Luna decided this was an acceptance. She leaped as high as she could, and landed on her stomach, sprawled sideways across the Rapidash's back. The flames merely tickled, but the Rapidash reared up on two legs in surprise, launching Luna backwards and off of it in an instant.

Harry, wary as he was in front of the large and powerful beast, quickly called out "Wingardium Leviosa" and caught Luna before she could hit the ground. He carefully set her on her feet and burst out, "What was that? You can't just leap without any warning, Luna!"

Luna cocked her head to the side for a moment and focused her gaze on Harry. She calmly resumed petting the Rapidash at her side and asked, "Why not? The last time I rushed and jumped on something, it was you and we ended up alive and well in this fantastic place. And with how quickly you caught me just now, it looks like I'm two for two. I think we just have to try with a different one, this handsome guy is too proud to let me ride him. I think he's watching out for the rest of the herd."

Harry nodded, unable to come up with a reasonable argument in spite of Luna's outlandish logic, and he calmed himself at Luna's unharmed state. "Well, this one here looks curious. Maybe she'll let you on. But let me try and levitate you on gently, so you can sit in a riding position."

They didn't need to bow to the curious Rapidash that approached, for it trotted up and gave Luna's hair a powerful sniff. Luna giggled, "I think she likes my shampoo," and Harry slowly levitated her up into the air and onto the Rapidash's back. It remained still, and didn't seem bothered in the slightest by her relatively minuscule weight. "Your turn!" Luna called, and before Harry could argue he was floated into the air and seated in front of Luna. He tossed the Sword of Gryffindor to the ground gently, wary of riding an unknown animal with a potentially hazardous weapon in a flimsy transfigured sheath.

The Rapidash remained unconcerned, and merely turned its head to look at the riders with one large unblinking eye. "Er.." Harry started, and paused. Would it even understand him? Or listen, if it did? He mentally shrugged, there was no other way to find out than to try asking. "Could you take us for a ride, please?"

It started slowly walking, and Harry reached out to the Rapidash's neck and Luna wrapped her arms around his chest. It broke into a gallop, and Harry leaned forward and molded himself to the Rapidash's neck to stay seated. The Rapidash sped up, running nearly as fast as his old Nimbus had been able to fly, and Harry grinned and laughed with joy. Luna pressed herself into his back, just peeking over his shoulder and gripping as tightly as she was able. They could hear nothing but the crash of pounding hooves, and see little more than the swirling, beautiful flames and the blur of passing fence posts. After a few laps around the property they slowed to a trot by the barn, and came to a stop in the wide open doorway. Granny Klitsch stood inside, next to the largest Rapidash and the rest in individual stalls.

The widening of her eyes was the only sign of surprise on Granny Klitsch's weathered face, but it was clear as day in her voice when she spoke. "How in hell did you two kids manage to get the barn sorted so durn quickly, and then manage to get yourself up on Thumper there for a lap?"

"Her name's Thumper? She's incredible! She's so fast! It was almost like we were flying! How long have you had her?" Luna exclaimed, ignoring all of Granny Klitsch's questions and responding with more of her own. She peeled herself off of Harry's back, and they both turned to face Granny Klitsch with wide grins on their faces.

Granny Klitsch muttered to herself again about "Durn fool kids" before regaining her composure. Harry and Luna remained seated atop the Rapidash, and made no move to dismount. "Well, I came out here early to see how you two'd been gettin' on, what with you bein' young and clueless and all. Imagine my surprise when I see the job done already, and just as good as my normal whelp. Scooter done got himself roughed up by a nasty pack o' Rattata when he stopped for lunch, and the Raticate they was following took a chunk out his leg with a hyper fang. You said you was on the lam and I'm lookin fer a hand 'til Scooter's back on 'is feet. I'll give ya room and board plus 100 a day if'n you help out 'til he gets back. Whattaya say?" Granny Klitsch smiled at them, revealing a missing handful of teeth.

"100 each, and you throw in a pair of boots for Harry and a hat for each of us, and you got yourself a deal." Luna countered. Harry just patted Thumper on the neck and scratched behind her ears.

Granny Klitsch smiled even wider, and proceeded to haggle. "100 each if you share a single room, between the two of yous you cook one meal a day, and you gimme 'til I can have a worthwhile pair of boots sent in. I can have 'em here on the delivery comin' Tuesday."

Harry squeezed Luna's thigh behind him, out of view of Granny Klitsch. He whispered, "We could probably get a better deal, or something else, but that seems more than good enough."

"If you take us on at least until the gear gets here, then we have a deal." Luna said.

"Deal. You're on dinner tonight, so wash up and get started. I've got the attic fixed up with a bed nice and cozy like, so that's where you're at tonight. Bathroom's at the end of the hallway, kitchen's on the other side of the living room when you enter. Just us three tonight, and I ain't no Snorlax, so you don't gotta go wild. Best let Thumper at her own stall and get cookin'." Granny Klitsch closed the large barn doors when Harry and Luna rode Thumper inside, and walked the short distance to the small farmhouse.

Harry and Luna climbed down the wooden stall railings to dismount, said a quick "Thanks" and "Goodbye" to the Rapidashes, and trudged to the farmhouse after Granny Klitsch. Luna had been awake for over 24 hours, and Harry had only gotten a short period of exhausted unconsciousness in the middle of that time. A quick preparation of grilled Pidgey breasts and sautéed green beans later, Harry, Luna, and Granny Klitsch sat at the table, relaxing behind cleared plates.

"Well that was damn good, squirt. I certainly didn't expect a meal like that from a scrapper like you. Where'd you learn to cook like that?" Granny Klitsch said.

Harry perked up at the compliment, before his mood shifted a bit. "My Aunt and Uncle started me cooking when I was little, and they... had high expectations. But we're a long way from there now, and I don't think I'd go back if I could." Harry was interrupted by a yawn, and Luna caught it moments later. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we're exhausted. What time tomorrow morning do we start?" He said.

"Day starts at sunrise, whippersnappers." Granny Klitsch grinned maliciously at Harry's groan. "I'll get ya up, if'n it needs doin'. Get yerselves some shut-eye, tomorrow's gonna be busy."

The two teens stumbled up the stairs, and nearly oblivious to anything but themselves, stripped down and climbed under the blankets, asleep just seconds later.


	3. Horse whisperer, Ghostbuster

Author's Note: I'm not a huge fan of these AN things, so they'll be few and far between. However, there's a heads-up here about this chapter. It starts out smut- page down once or twice if you don't want to read that. It also comes to the first established characters from the Pokemon universe. I spent a good while stumbling through Bulbapedia, and while there is a lot of good and interesting things about Canon Pokemon, I threw a lot of it out the window. The world will be fleshed out as the story progresses, but I'm slightly more interested in Harry and Luna, and their pokemon battles and adventures than the whole world. But who knows, these things have a way of spiraling off to who knows where, in spite of all my original thoughts and plans.

P.S. I don't own rights to things, merely physical copies of books and games. Bother people with money if you've got problems instead of me, please.

P.P.S. I changed a couple words here and there in chapters one and two. Nothing significant, but when I went back over them, I clarified a thing or two and fixed some grammar/tense problems. Not enough to warrant re-reading I don't think, unless you really like the story and want to. That's cool too.

-=0Oo0oO0Oo0oO0=-

Harry awoke for the second time in a row feeling the best he ever had. The minor bruises and scratches he had suffered fighting through the ministry had healed; enough to stop sending signals of pain through his body, even if it was still marred by minor bruises and scabs. The sky outside the small attic window was lightening ever so slightly, portending the coming dawn. He stretched and yawned, and when he was kept from sitting up by a weight on his chest, he finally fully regained consciousness. His head and arms were above the thick blankets, and spilling over his neck and shoulders were Luna's pale golden tresses. Harry pulled back the blankets to investigate, and was met with Luna's still sleeping and equally naked self. She was face down, with an arm across his abdomen and her face on his chest, as if she had fallen asleep watching him. She looked so serene and peaceful, drooling like a hosepipe all down his side. "Gah! Luna!" Harry tried and failed to sit upright again, but this time he at least succeeded in waking his friend. She sat upright, her legs perpendicular to his and facing him, exposed breasts clear for him to see in the dim light. She chewed on her tongue and then yawned, before finally opening her eyes.

Harry's eyes were locked on Luna's breasts, the first he had seen in his life. They were magnificent, and lifted and swayed as Luna stretched in front of him. They were perfect in Harry's eyes; just a handful, or perhaps slightly more? Yes, slightly larger than his hand he noticed, and… He felt a bit of pressure in his palm, and shifted his grip. His gentle groping slowed, and he slid his palm and thumb along Luna's hot, smooth skin. He circled her firmly erect nipple with his thumb and when he gently pinched and twisted and pulled her whole breast with the motion, Luna moaned, and shocked Harry back to his senses with a start. "Ahh! I'm sorry!" Harry began, blushing now as hard as his erection.

"Why'd you stop?" Luna nearly whimpered, only to be slightly confused by Harry's outburst. "That felt incredible, Harry Potter. Why would you be sorry for that?" Her skin was flushed across her cheeks and chest, though more in excitement than Harry's embarrassed blush.

Speaking directly to Luna's still exposed breasts, Harry said, "Er… well, yours are the first breasts I've ever seen, and they're just brilliant, and before I even knew what I was doing I was pawing all over them and I didn't even ask!"

Luna laughed, a light tinkling giggle that soothed his worry just as well as it bolstered his erection. "Oh, Harry Potter. I would have stopped you, or at least asked you to stop if I hadn't wanted that to happen. You would have stopped if I had said something, right?"

"No! I mean, of course I would have stopped if you said so. I'm not…"

Harry was interrupted by Luna's laughter once more. "Oh, I certainly didn't think that you were, Harry Potter. But if your hesitancy was due to your perceived lack of permission, how about this: Harry Potter, you are permitted access to my body for purposes of pleasure and sexual exploration when we are alone and unclothed."

"Brilliant." Harry mumbled, both of his hands immediately returning to Luna's chest. "And, er, you've got the same permissions with me, Luna. If you'd like."

"I certainly would, Harry Potter. Though, I don't think I can concentrate on anything besides your wonderful hands at the moment."

Harry nodded, he certainly understood that. He didn't think his penis had ever been harder in his life, and he could feel a dribble of precum cooling as it dribbled down his shaft. All of his focus was on his hands though, and the treasures within. He caressed the smooth skin, soft and hot beneath his fingertips, and slowly circled and flicked Luna's nipples. He was mesmerized, until quick as a snake, Luna moved. Her hair whipped around, the color of the sunlight it caught in the first rays of the morning. Harry's hands caught soft handfuls of fine hair as it cascaded across his face, and he gripped on tightly as an incredible warmth engulfed his cock. His mind stopped working, nothing registering but the warm, wet mouth and the slippery hot tongue making circles around the head of his penis. Before he could even register what has happening, a pressure built in his loins, and with only enough time to grunt out, "Luna!" He lost what little control of himself he had. Luna's mouth didn't stop, and after he'd died and gone to heaven and come back and his balls'd stopped twitching and his penis began to soften a little, she finally stopped her gulping and sucking and sat up, releasing him with a quiet slurp. One hand remained cupping his balls, his heartbeat thundering in his ears and on her fingertips.

"That certainly tasted much better than I was led to believe it would, Harry Potter." Luna smiled at Harry, all excitement and satisfaction, with only a small drop of white in the corner of her mouth.

"Luna, I think that we're more than close enough you don't have to keep using my whole name. Just Harry is fine, please."

"Yes, Harry Potter is a bit of a mouthful." Luna managed to say with a straight face.

Harry's jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of her statement, and by the time he regained his senses from her actions and words, Luna had stood and walked to the foot of the bed, her lower half screened behind the footboard. She waved her wand over her two pieces of clothing, muttering incantations and returning them to a near pristine state. "Er… Luna, what was that? I mean, it was incredible, and I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't some amazing dream, but… What are we doing? You and me and… This whole world? What are we going to do?"

"That was a blowjob. I thought you would recognize that, with the first-hand experience. And I've just finished getting dressed, which I would recommend you do as well before we head down to breakfast. I think I would rather enjoy the view if you didn't, but Granny Klitsch may have something to say, and we'll probably be outside all day." Luna finished tying her boots and finally licked the last drop of Harry from the corner of her mouth. She stared at Harry's once more gobsmacked expression, before a look of comprehension flashed across her eyes. "Oh, you were being meta. Well, you're a very attractive young man, and you were looking so reverently at me, and your hands just felt so incredible, so I just wanted to respond somehow, and that seemed like the best option at the time. And now I'm three for three! But here in this world? Well, it's terribly convenient to have arrived where we did, and though we have seen what appear to be magical animals, I haven't seen any people casting spells or anything. So are we on some sort of squib world? Granny Klitsch wasn't even that surprised to see two teenagers out on their own, one of which was carrying a sword. I didn't see any kids as we came into town, or a building that looked like a school, but she mentioned something about an Oak who wanted Ponytas to help kids survive in the woods. Maybe these people all raise their children and then send them off to Oak like we went to Hogwarts. Though it sounds much more dangerous than Hogwarts ever was if they need a Ponyta so they don't die. And I wonder what could be in the woods that would be so dangerous, and they still let children through it." She tapped her finger on her chin, staring unfocusedly across the room. Harry finally managed to clean his pants and shirt and dress himself with Luna's pale flesh concealed beneath her clothes. "Granny Klitsch mentioned something about a ball I think, so maybe we have to harness some Rapidashes to a carriage? We'll probably find out soon enough. I think we can explore Pallet Town today, if we can hurry though whatever morning chores there are quick enough. The stuff we did yesterday afternoon didn't take long at all. We should probably be careful and not use magic where people can see, I don't want to be run out of town so quickly after finding this place. But we've got a place to stay and a bit of money coming in, so we don't have to worry about basic survival necessities. I think we left all the nargles behind, so we won't have to worry about our things going missing either."

Further conversation was stalled by a pounding on the door and Granny Klitsch's rough voice. "Breakfast is on the table, whippersnappers! Git your hides down 'n' eat 'fore it gets cold. Gonna need your energy this mornin'!"

Harry and Luna quickly followed her down the stairs, and sat in the empty seats at the table. There was a fourth person at the breakfast table, wearing a sweater and resting his bandaged leg on the chair next to him. "Scooter, this here's Harry and Luna. They're stayin' up in the attic while you're laid up." Granny Klitsch said between bites. Scooter nodded a hello, but kept silent as he ate. She turned to Harry and Luna and said, "I'm be pokeballin' them three littlest Ponyta's this morning, so once you get 'em all fed and brushed, we'll move the pair of them to the outside paddock. Ain't gonna risk one of 'em learned Ember or somethin' and burnin' the barn down. You kids carryin' any pokemon besides that Honedge I seen ya with?"

"Er… No, neither of us have any pokemon. And what Honedge?" Harry answered, confused. He didn't want to reveal too much of his ignorance, but he didn't even know what he was ignorant of to begin with.

"Knew a trader when I was still young and travellin'. He was from Kalos, had a Honedge with 'im that looked nearly identical to that sword you had on your back yesterday. Hold up, no pokemon… You tellin' me you showed up yesterday lookin like you'd been dragged behind a Rapidash, comin' from who-knows-where and all you and your girlfriend got with you is a sword? Did you just up and crawl out from under a Geodude or somethin'?" Granny Klitsch leaned closer, suddenly more interested in her temporary farmhands.

Harry shifted in his seat, unsure of how much to reveal of where they had come from when Luna took the choice from him. "Through an entirely unpredictable and irreplicable series of events, Harry and I found ourselves incredibly far from home, and are unable to return. We come from Scotland if that means anything to you, and if that 'living under a Geodude' phrase is as similar to the one I know as I suspect, then yes, we more or less did just crawl out from under a Geodude."

"Huh. I ain't never heard of this Scotland Region, and I've never heard an accent like yours either. You certainly got a touch with my Ponytas and Rapidashes, I seen yesterday. Well, best to keep you from getting yourselves killed doin' something stupid while you're workin' here, so Scooter'll give you the quick 'n' dirty local what-for." Granny Klitsch said.

Scooter looked up as he finished his plate, and began speaking. "Granny's Rapidash Ranch of Pallet Town, Kanto Region, Planet Earth. Pallet Town is the home of Professor Oak, the inventor of the Pokedex and Red, the current Champion of the Pokemon League. Red's Mom lives just down the street from Oak's Lab, which is that big building on the other side of town. Kanto is the home of the first 150 pokemon in the National Pokedex and while the other 500 or however many aren't native to the region, there has been a significant introduction of pokemon from the other regions in the past few decades. Even more so since Team Rocket was disbanded and then Red became Champion. The leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, was a real piece of work, I tell you. And with all the ruthless and amoral Team Rocket goons under his control, he almost managed to take over the region. Red managed to stop him before he set off the large and bloody coup he was planning, and both Kanto and Johto to the west have been generally peaceful since then. There's been a lot more travelling and trade between our two close regions, and so there has been almost an explosion of pokemon that haven't been seen here before."

"And in business here at the ranch!" Granny Klitsch interjected with a cackle from the kitchen where she was washing dishes. "I've doubled my Rapidashes for that Pokeathlon in Johto, and with enough folks out there wantin' to be a cowboy and payin' top pokedollar for a baby Ponyta, we got a good thing goin' here. And speakin' of which, it's about time we got to work. If'n you can get the afternoon jobs finished quick as you did yesterday, you can have most of the day free after we 'ball the Ponytas this mornin'."

Granny Klitsch finished the dishes and headed out the front door, followed a few steps behind by Harry and Luna. Granny Klitsch heaved apart the barn doors, and let the cool morning air blow inside. The sleeping pokemon were all awakened by the sudden light and sounds coming in, and Granny Klitsch let them out into the yard stall by stall. When they had emptied the barn save for the last three young Ponytas, Granny Klitsch pulled three shrunken pokeballs out of her pocket. She tossed one each to Harry and Luna, and gave them a quick explanation of what they were to do. "Pokeballs are what allow human civilization to survive and advance as far as it has, what with as many violent varieties of pokemon as there are. If you ever learned any science, you know how energy cannot be created or destroyed, just changed into different things or moved around. Pokeballs are made from a couple fancy gizmos and a laser inside an apricorn shell ball, and they are capable of catching and storing even the biggest pokemon inside them. If you can get a pokemon's internal energy levels down low enough without killing it, you can try and catch it with a pokeball. Most people do that by fighting them with pokemon of their own, but we usually just take these fellers out to the paddock and run 'em into the ground so they don't fight the 'ball."

Harry had remained focused on Granny Klitsch as she had explained the task, paying no heed to the pokeball in his hand. Luna had briefly yet thoroughly investigated the ball she had received, and had expanded it from marble size to baseball size by pressing the lone button on the surface. She slipped into a stall with a tiny Ponyta in it, and skipped her way over to the skittish animal. It was only knee high to Luna at the shoulder, and despite its small stature was burning fiercely and hot as a forge. Harry pulled one of the remaining apples from his pocket, and hidden from sight behind his body, cut it into wedges with a few whispered spells. He passed half the apple to Luna and then entered the stall next to her, joining a slightly larger young Ponyta. Harry moved slowly and non-threateningly, and once more tried bowing to the fiery creature. It didn't respond to Harry's bow, but the smell of fruit drew it closer when Harry had stood still long enough. Harry gave it a slice of apple, and while it was distracted with food he latched a light chain around its neck. The fire wasn't burning him, but if the Ponyta changed its mind a rope would go up in smoke in seconds, and the chain looked just like the ones his Aunt Marge had kept for her bulldogs, so he thought it would be just fine.

The three humans all opened the stalls and stepped out into the barn simultaneously. Granny Klitsch had done the same thing Harry did with the chain, he was happy to notice. Luna however, had stopped both Harry and Granny Klitsch in their tracks. Luna had her hand extended out, pokeball in the upturned palm. She finished chewing a final bite of crunchy apple, and smiled widely as she returned the now filled pokeball to Granny Klitsch. "That was amazing! It was just like magic, that you can fit the whole Ponyta in that tiny little ball."

Granny Klitsch moved very slowly as she took the pokeball back. She held it out, and with the push of a button and a flash of light, the Ponyta stood in the center of the barn, surrounded. Another button press and small lightshow later, Granny Klitsch burst out with, "How in the hell did you manage that, girlie? You were in there for less than a minute, and you didn't even tire it out!"

"I asked her nicely." Luna smiled, and walked over to the Ponyta that Harry had leashed. She knelt down in front of it, and petted it gently while whispering into its ear. A moment later she asked up at Harry, "Do you have another apple?"

"Just one more after this one," Harry said, and handed Luna the second one he had brought. A few more whispers, and the quickly eaten bit of fruit for the Ponyta, and Luna caught the second of the three for the morning. Granny Klitsch was completely flabbergasted, and after just a few minutes and the final apple from Harry and home, Luna took the pokeball from Granny Klitsch's limp grip and caught the third Ponyta.

She handed the full pokeballs to Granny Klitsch, and moved to hang the leashes back in the stalls they came from. Granny Klitsch seemed to regain her wits and come to a conclusion when the teens started moving. "Aight you two, that was certainly somethin'. I'ma have to take these over to Oak's Lab to use his transfer machine, and I'll probably be tellin' him 'bout this mornin' and y'all. I aint never seen nothing like that in all my years, and I bet old Oak's gonna wanna talk with ya too. You'll need to be here same time this afternoon as yesterday, but you're free all day 'til then. And you really oughta stop by Oak's Lab; if you're as broke and homeless as you claim, he'll be able to set you up with something."

Granny Klitsch smiled at Harry and Luna, and then released a Rapidash from a pokeball on her belt. It was larger and more powerful than any of the others they had seen so far, older and scarred along its powerful flanks. Granny Klitsch said, "Swing on by Oak's later!" as she swung around and galloped off, her Rapidash clearing the gate in a powerful leap and setting off across town.

It couldn't have been later than 8 in the morning as Harry and Luna started walking, but the streets were far from empty in the rural town. Many people walked from building to building, and most houses seemed to have a garden or a workshop with someone puttering about. Countless fascinating pokemon captured the teens' attention as they walked; bulky humanoid things helping carry stacks of lumber, a small child playing fetch with a fiery dog, and even birds large enough to ride on the back of. When they were only a block away from Oak's Lab, Harry and Luna stopped by a small home with a pokemon out front. It was humanoid, with two arms, two legs, and a head on top of its torso. It had terribly spindly arms and legs, connected by large bulbous joints to its torso. It was colored in bright and simple colors, mostly white with red spots, and when Luna had stopped to watch it, it stopped sweeping the walkway and stepped closer. It moved closer to them with an odd hopping gait, and without so much as a 'by your leave' it handed Harry it's broom and pulled Luna a few steps over onto the lawn.

The creature kept its silence, though it waved its arms and legs about, and flexed its fingers in some strange form of charades. Luna, fascinated and eager to have a nonvocal conversation with some sort of magical animal she'd never seen before, quickly responded with her own interpretive dance. Harry had never played charades before, and wasn't sure he could follow whatever the creature and Luna were doing back and forth even if he had. Harry started to sweep the walkway from where the pokemon had stopped, almost on autopilot as he watched his friend converse with the pokemon. It wasn't long before he finished, and was startled from his gaze by the front door of the house opening.

"Thank you, young man, for finishing that up for me. I see that Mimey's foisted off the work on someone else again." An attractive woman said from the doorway, lines of age just beginning to show on her face and brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail.

"Er… It's no trouble, ma'am. I'm Harry, and we're new to the area. Luna seems to have waylaid your… What is that, anyway?"

"That's Mimey, a Mr. Mime. And I'm Delia Ketchum, it's nice to meet a newcomer to Pallet. Or are you just passing through? It might just be the mom in me, but you really should get some sturdy shoes if you're going to spend much time on the road."

Harry blushed and looked down at his unshod feet. "We ended up here with almost nothing, but we've managed a roof and a bit of work at Granny's Rapidash Ranch while we get sorted. We're headed to Oak's Lab actually, Granny Klitsch thinks he'll want to talk to us."

Mrs. Ketchum smiled at hearing that. "Professor Oak is a good man, and if you can keep up with Granny Klitsch, you'll be able to handle almost anything around here. Best not keep them waiting too long, Harry, and I think Mimey's wrapping things up with your friend."

"Thanks for the chat, ma'am. It was nice to meet you." The Mr. Mime followed Mrs. Ketchum back inside the house, and Harry and Luna continued on their way. They entered the building's automatically opening doors, the 'Professor Oak's Pokemon Laboratory' sign ensuring that they were in the right place.

The building was packed full of computer equipment, monitors and lights blinking in lights just as bright as outside. A handful of lab coat clad scientists worked with the machines, or at tables and whiteboards spread out through the room. Granny Klitsch was easily identifiable in her denim outfit and cowboy hat, and she was deep in conversation with a grey haired man in a lab coat and glasses, and an ancient woman in a purple dress , leaning on a cane. The crone turned to Harry as soon as they crossed the threshold, and pushing between Granny Klitsch and the other man strode confidently towards him.

Granny Klitsch and the scientist hurried after the old woman, but she began speaking without waiting for them to catch up. "Something happened 28 hours ago. Who are you and what did you do?!" The woman demanded of Harry, and he was so taken aback at her curt temperament that he stood silently for a moment. It was a moment too long for the old woman, as with a flash of light she released a large purple nightmare. It had just enough color that it wasn't black, and floated behind the woman's shoulder like a dementor balloon animal. It was shadowed in smoky darkness, and reeked of malevolence. The round, bulbous torso had a face in the front of it, and stubby arms and legs with jagged, dripping claws on the ends. "Gengar! Get answers!" The woman yelled, and the Gengar started to move.

"Agatha! No!"

"Dammit woman!" The scientist and Granny Klitsch yelled, and Harry brought up his hand in front of his face. The Gengar's mouth stretched across its entire body, revealing rows of sharp teeth. The whole room darkened, ghostly shadows spreading from the pokemon's body and obscuring its torso. The blood red eyes glowed with unholy fury, and the claws elongated for a long instant. They stretched, sharpening, coated in shadow and intangible smoke, and Harry only had time for a single word before the claws tore him asunder.

"Stop!" Harry shouted, hands up in front of his face with the resurrection stone mounted on his right ring finger. Gengar froze in place in midair, unable to even change the expression on its face. Agatha froze and paled, blood rushing from her face in an attempt to flee.

"What… are you…?" She asked quietly, slowly backing away from Harry and her frozen Gengar.

Harry looked back and forth between the ring on his finger and the immobile pokemon. "Luna?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Luna responded, seemingly unconcerned with the current goings on.

"If this is a ghost pokemon, I think that's a bit more support for the tale of the Peverell brothers being true." Harry said.

"And pretty useful, it appears." Luna said and then focused her wide eyed gaze on the old woman, who was regaining her composure despite being terrified. "How did you know 28 hours ago? And who are you to be demanding things of us?"

The old woman licked her lips and gathered herself briefly, before she began. "I'm Agatha, of the Elite Four. I train ghost type pokemon mostly, and 28 hours ago every single ghost for as far as I've had contact with turned and looked in the same direction. It was south, and a bit east from Indigo Plateau, so Pallet Town was the best place to start looking." Agatha explained, and then returned her still frozen Gengar to its pokeball. Luna blinked once and ceased staring at Agatha, then slipped her hand into Harry's and stood silently. Agatha gestured to the other two and continued, "Granny here was telling us about some kinda savant ranch hands she'd found, and pretty boy Oak was boring us with science and technobabble and something about an aura. But seriously, who are you, and why did all the ghosts do that?"

"I'm Harry. That's Luna. And we arrived a ways outside of pallet town about 28 hours ago, and the ghosts probably reacted because of how we got here."

"And how did you get here, that would be noticeable to ghosts hundreds of miles away. Even Morty in Johto said his ghosts turned and looked. And what the hell did you do to my Gengar? I don't even have control that tight, and I caught it 50 years ago!" Agatha pressed on, no longer as terrified as she started.

Professor Oak spoke up when Harry and Luna remained silent, unwilling yet to divulge too much. "Granny Klitsch mentioned you came from somewhere called Scotland? I've never even heard of a place, and I've never heard an accent like yours before either."

Harry gave Luna's hand a squeeze, hoping that she would keep silent. "Where we came from, there was an ancient artifact that our ministry called… The Veil of Death. It was a stone archway with a fluttering black curtain, and anything that was sent through it never returned. In hundreds of years of study, nobody had managed to learn anything about it, except that things that were passed through disappeared and never returned. Luna and I were in a bit of a rumpus with some other blokes, and there was an enormous explosion. The archway, as well as the curtain which had been detached from it, exploded, and we got blasted in some direction other than the normal four."

"And there weren't no pokemon where you come from, huh? That explains a bit, I guess. But what in Arceus' Golden Hoofprints was that with the Gengar? Ain't nobody can control someone else's pokemon like that, much less control any ghost at all that well." Granny Klitsch asked, obviously noticing their non-answer to Agatha.

Luna squeezed Harry's hand, and shook her head ever so slightly when he looked over at her. He squeezed back, and thinking of a conversation years ago with Headmaster Dumbledore, he said, "A wise old man once said, 'The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing. And therefore must be treated with great caution.' What's going on with me and ghosts is not something that I can share, but rest assured that we have no intention of causing trouble. We still don't even know what we are going to do here."

"And you think we're supposed to just believe some outlandish tale like that? After what you've done to my Gengar? If I hadn't just seen it, I wouldn't believe it happened!" Agatha glared at Harry as she demanded answers.

Harry and Luna shrugged simultaneously, still hand in hand. "It's related to the explosion that set off the Veil, but it's not something that we could or would repeat. Private and irrelevant, if you will. The ghost thing is just an unexpected side effect, I guess."

Agatha glared back and forth at Harry and Luna, and then stormed past them, pressing a business card to Harry's chest as she moved by. "Fuckin' weird kids outta nowhere, maybe they really are from another dimension…" She muttered to herself as she walked away, exited out into the sunshine, and disappeared behind the doors sliding closed behind her.

"Well! If you're from some sort of parallel dimension where there are no pokemon, you certainly aren't enrolled in the Pokemon League! Come you two, let's get you signed up and some identification printed out. And after a display like you just put on, I think you're more than qualified for one of my Pokedexes too!" Professor Oak turned and started walking off, clearly expecting to be followed. Granny Klitsch just laughed and parted ways with Harry and Luna, heading back outside with her business concluded. The Professor had kept talking the entire time he was walking, and Harry and Luna caught up just in time to hear, "About it. Any questions?"

"I'm sure we'll manage," Luna answered, cutting Harry off before he could even start.

Professor Oak had them each fill out a simple questionnaire: Name, Gender, Hair Color, Eye Color, Blood Type. A quick flash of a camera and Harry and Luna had plastic ID cards, their Pokemon League Trainer Licenses. He handed them over with a quick explanation. "These licenses are the most important thing to have, besides pokemon of your own. They enable access to the Pokemon League central database, and I've created an account for each of you. Those will hold digital records of your official pokemon battles, as well as a Pokemon League Bank account so that you don't have to carry around physical cash. You still can, of course, but many trainers don't like having to keep track of it all in the wild. Now, I've got good news and bad news about your pokedex. I don't currently have any pokedexes to give you, much less one for each of you. Only about one in fifty Trainers get a Pokedex, usually at the recommendation of a Gym Leader or Professor like myself. While I normally would just send you on your way without, I think the two of you are bound to do _something_ interesting. If you have some sort of control of ghost types, who knows what else you'll be able to do. I have tons of miscellaneous parts in the lab here- I can assemble a custom pokedex for the two of you if you give me a couple days. You'll be able to manage both of your Trainer accounts with it, and I can fit in a couple other miscellaneous things that you might find useful. Now, on to your starter pokemon. Normally, the license fee includes your starter pokemon. I've covered the cost for application to the Pokemon League for you, but I can't just be handing out pokemon, dimensional travelers or not. However, purely out of professional curiousity, I would sponsor your purchase in exchange for a brief study of your bodies."

"You can't have our blood, but I suppose that as we have no money, we can accede to some study. And what kind of pokemon are you offering to us?" Harry accepted the Professor's deal with a serious expression, very wary of his blood being misused again.

"Excellent! I've got a scanner here that will briefly shoot a laser over you, completely harmless and painless, and it will record you on more wavelengths than we even know what they mean. In short, we can compare any genetic and molecular differences between yours and our world. I've got a Charmander, a Squirtle, and a Bellsprout at the moment. But if you're willing to wait until I finish your pokedes, I will have the Ponyta Granny Klitsch brought checked out, and a Machop and a Graveler coming in from up near Mt. Moon. There's not anyone else scheduled for a license until next month, so you don't have to hurry to decide," Professor Oak said.

"We might as well wait and see what else you've got coming in." Harry decided. "We probably won't need a pokemon while we're working for Granny Klitsch, and we'll be there for another… what day is it, anyway? We'll be at Granny's Ranch 'til Tuesday, so we can wait until then at least, I suppose."

"Excellent! If you'll just stand over here for a moment, I can get the scans done and get started on the pokedex for you." After a brief flash of red light that passed over Harry and Luna, Professor Oak thanked them and then hustled off to a corner of his lab, puttering through boxes and grabbing lots of small parts.

Harry and Luna were ignored completely when Professor Oak got started on his work, and they left the building in good spirits, excited to be newly licensed Pokemon Trainers.


End file.
